Into Pennsylvania

Thursday, October 25, 2012:

And now just 15 miles of trail left to hike.  Tomorrow will be my last full hiking day.  Wow!  What a ride it's been.

Today, though, the ride was all in the fog.  It was a dreary drippy day.  Look at the "view" from Pen Mar Park's famous and venerable old vista point:

For the third day in a row I hiked all day in my crocs.  My poor beat-up old feet seem to like them better than any of the alternative shoe choices I have available.  Every pair I have is worn out and close to falling apart except the crocs.  Maybe that's the key.

The highlight of the day was a chance to visit the new Raven Rock Shelter, less than two years old and *much* easier to get to than the old Devils Racecourse Shelter it replaces.  That old shelter was a long steep drop from the trail and 0.3 miles away.  The new one is at the elevation of the trail and just a few hundred yards away.  Below is the photo I took of Devils Racecourse Shelter on August 7, 2010.  Note how the front is leaning and the roof has a tarp:

All the talk on and off the trail in this area is about Hurricane Sandy and the super-storm it will generate as it merges with a winter blast of cold air.  It's very reminiscent of Hurricane Hazel in 1954, which I remember well (living in Wilmington, DE at the time).  Almost exactly the same time of year.  I'm fortunate that I'll be done hiking before the storm hits, except for a ceremonial last day when I'll celebrate with family and hike the last couple of miles.   Just hoping that Sandy spares us all, gives us a Halloween fright, but with out the 'tricks'.

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Here's the map of today's hike and a link to more photos:

AT Day 267 - Pen Mar Park at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find trail maps for California and beyond